Catch Me If You Can

There’s a famous children’s nursery rhyme about a little gingerbread man.  The challenge he gives to his would-be “snackers” is, “run, run as fast you can, you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man”.  Unfortunately for the gingerbread man, the sneaky fox eventually tricks him and eats him up.  This past Palm Sunday, we listened to a Priest tell us about how satan sets traps for us throughout life.  He tries to catch us, when we’re not looking, in our pursuit to survive the challenges of this world to one day be Holy and Perfect with God in Heaven.  However, the greatest trap in His-story was when Jesus allowed satan to convince the Jews and Pontius Pilate to crucify Him.  Satan thought he had won and killed God.  But, God lured satan with some very old tricks and, when all was said and done, Jesus returned from the grave on Easter Sunday and opened the gates of Heaven, with His precious blood, for all of us.  And, like the gingerbread man, satan got tricked and God turned the tables on him.  Like greyhound dogs, chasing after a mechanical rabbit that they’ll never be able to catch, on race tracks around the world, we will never fully “catch” God and perfection in this world.  Only Jesus did that.  But, we must always keep our eyes fixed on the prize and, like the greyhounds, keep chasing after Jesus.  The closer we get to Him, the more He asks.  But, be careful to mind the snares of the devil and, one day, you will be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)